FOLLOWING the successful use of our new live facial recognition technology in Clacton and Southend, it will be deployed for a third time on Saturday.

Live facial recognition vans will be used in Harlow on Saturday 7 September.

We use the technology to find people wanted for serious offences, to help enforce orders against those whose faces are put on a ‘watch list’ and to protect those who are vulnerable and at risk of harm.

If your face is not on the watch list, the technology deletes your image in a fraction of a second. It is not retained in any way and is not stored on any database.

The Harlow deployment is an extension to the Clear, Hold, Build project, which aims to eradicate criminal activity and regenerate key areas of the town.

It is a Home Office-backed scheme which brings together public services to tackle offending and address underlying issues affecting the local community.

Its ultimate aim is to produce sustained, long-term change in places which have been affected by serious and organised crime by pursuing offenders, breaking up and dispersing gangs, and creating strong, resilient neighbourhoods.

Chief Inspector Paul Austin, Harlow district commander, said: “This is the third use of this innovative technology. In the first two deployments, in Clacton and Southend, we made five arrests, resulting from ten positive alerts.

“This tech is used to help us locate people who we want to speak to as part of serious ongoing investigations or to manage people who have had court orders or conditions imposed upon them as a result of committing offences.”

Ch Insp Austin added: “I want to be clear – criminals who have committed serious offences cannot walk around freely in our community and this technology allows us to keep our communities safe and ultimately locate people who we believe to have committed serious crimes.”